As you can see, 77% of mobile users said they downloaded an app that they heard about through word of mouth, while 38% said they downloaded apps they found in the top charts. Less than 20% of users said they downloaded an app because they saw it advertised or they read about it in the media.

This means that for mobile apps to be successful, they have to rely a lot on word of mouth. This requires someone to first take a chance on an app and then become passionate enough about it to recommend it to people they know, who will then in turn recommend it to others.

This involves a lot of luck and it also means that your mobile app might never get popular even if you do a great job of promoting it through the media and with strong ad support. The moral of the story seems to be that if you think you can quit your day job to spend all your time developing a great mobile app that you think will make you instant millions… you really probably shouldn’t.